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Survey reveals top advanced analytics priorities in supply chain

According to a recent survey into the use of advanced analytics, 30 percent of supply chain leaders regard the need to respond to customer mandates for faster, more accurate and unique fulfilment as a top business priority moving forward. Although this requires access to the right supply chain information when and where it is needed and the ability to derive quick insights from big data, many companies still rely on spreadsheets and legacy systems. Such systems inhibit visibility and hide both the opportunities and the potential risks.

The survey was conducted among more than a thousand supply chain leaders by Logility Inc. – a leading provider of collaborative supply chain optimization and advanced retail planning solutions – and APICS, in order to uncover the priorities and challenges companies face as they embrace advanced analytics, big data and machine learning.

Ability to blend data from multiple systems

In other notable findings from the survey, 36 percent of respondents see the opportunity to optimize their inventory to balance supply and demand as a top driver for their analytics initiatives. The ability to blend data from multiple systems for complete supply chain visibility is considered a key benefit of an advanced analytics initiative by 28 percent of the supply chain leaders. Moreover, 19 percent of respondents want to leverage machine learning to improve their company’s forecast accuracy.

“Organizations can quickly become overwhelmed by the vast amount of data today’s enterprise systems, connected devices and social networks create”, said Allan Dow (photo), President, Logility. “Through the innovative use of artificial intelligence and machine learning we are able to better understand the dynamics that impact business, quickly uncover new opportunities and enhance customer service.”